


i'm rootin' for ya, kid

by Sneakyfox55



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: But we're doing it anyway, Chara's not evil, Everyone Needs A Hug, Everyone's just doing their best, Frisk no longer exists (technically), Gen, Heavy Angst, Nice Chara (Undertale), Platonic Relationships, This probably isn't going to make a whole lot of sense, Verbal Frisk (Undertale), What am I doing, but they're also not a saint, everyone is sad, if you can call it that, like seriously Chara give Sans a break lol, sort of blackmailing?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-12
Updated: 2020-03-11
Packaged: 2020-11-24 18:33:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20912183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sneakyfox55/pseuds/Sneakyfox55
Summary: Sans had gotten used to them resetting after a while. Eventually, it became almost a routine of sorts: they’d get bored half-way through, reset, and redo everything all over again, whether they chose to spare or kill that time. Sometimes it was after getting monsters to the surface, other times it was before. It seemed they were never satisfied.But one day, things are different. One day, they fail to appear like they always had; in their place is a ghost, similar to them but far more different. They claim the other has disappeared, without so much as a trace.And Sans is left to wonder if he’ll ever see the kid again.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> i'm trying another new thing whoops
> 
> I dunno, I felt a burst of inspiration and came out with this thing; the prologue is super short, much shorter than I wanted it to be, but it's a stand-alone and I didn't want to add anything else to it so um. Sorry. Things will get rolling more in the next chapter haha.
> 
> Also, the next chapter of There's Always A Tomorrow is coming along pretty well so it should be out soon in the next couple of days! ...Hopefully, anyways. ^^'

Dark, darker, yet darker. It kept growing, the shadows cutting deeper.

The child lost track of how long they’d been there. They couldn’t even remember _how_ they got there. Their vision was obstructed by blackness now, no physicality in sight. It felt like they were in an entirely new plane of existence, fated to be forgotten.

...Why did that sound familiar?

Eventually, they decided to call out for help, in some vain attempt to escape this formless prison. But nobody came; they knew no one would, if they were being honest with themselves.

They wanted to give up. Their determination was fading, they could sense it. Their soul refused to continue, too weak. They were hopeless. But why?

Why... What had happened to them? They had somewhere to get back to, didn’t they? People they wanted to see again, _friends_...

Suddenly, they felt a secondary being join them in the void, just as cold and lifeless as the rest of it. Their presence was unfriendly; foreboding. They didn’t want to be there, just like the child.

The figure stretched their hand for the child to take. With it came a terrible sense of dread, a feeling that they shouldn’t go with whoever this was. They were certain it wasn’t one of their friends, and they didn’t trust this figure. But... The guilt was too strong now. They couldn’t keep it at bay any longer. They needed to do this, they just _knew_. This was the right thing.

It would be okay. Everyone would see that.

They let the figure lead them further into the void.


	2. Alteration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What Sans thinks is a "normal" route, isn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is super late and I'm sorry if it seems rushed, but I hope you guys like it! It's not much longer than the previous one but whatever haha, chapter 3 should be longer I promise.

Saying things felt off was an understatement. There was a new chill in the air, foreboding and cold as ice. It was deathly quiet, which was unnatural for the town. Not a single flake had fallen, the snowy, white world as still as could be.

At first, Sans didn’t think much of it; that is to say, it wasn’t that he was _okay_ with it, he just didn’t think this was _different_ from the usual. There wasn’t anything to write home about at first. No drastic change in the timeline. (Again, not that he liked what would happen in this timeline, but whatever.) Well, no changes had occurred yet, at least.

Any minute now, Papyrus would go to his usual spot by the river, Sans thought. Try to convince them to make a better decision. Try to tell them to be good instead. But, they’d made their decision. And they’d make another one in that moment, disregarding his mercy and continuing on, memories of a different, happier timeline shoved out of their head.

He... Honestly couldn’t remember the last time they’d spared his brother; or, avoided this route altogether. After completing most of the neutral runs, they’d turned to this again. His theory was that they simply liked the feeling of it, the feeling of being in control. Having friends who cared about them, and would do anything to help them just wasn’t enough anymore. They just needed to feel powerful.

...But for how long?

Well, he didn’t really have an answer for that. He didn’t think he ever would, and he didn’t think they’d stop this time around. He doubted sparing Papyrus that one time was anything but a one-time thing, just to see what would happen.

Therefore, when Papyrus said he was going to “train with Undyne” instead, and not even mention stopping the human, Sans was a bit confused.

Okay, no. Why, in everything good and normal, would Papyrus choose to not stop the human? Such a thing was unheard of, and as much as Sans detested the thought of Papyrus going out there, him _not_ doing it was worse somehow. It just... Wasn’t Papyrus. So he had to ask, “what about the human?”

The look on his brother’s face would have been comical if this situation wasn’t disturbing as all crap; his entire skull contorted in bewilderment, and something like disbelief. “BROTHER, WHAT IN ASGORE’S NAME ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?? WHAT HUMAN???” His eye-sockets then widened, gasping like he’d just been told he’d finally been accepted into the Royal Guard. “OH MY GODS!! WAIT, ARE YOU SAYING YOU’VE _SEEN_ A HUMAN?!! WHERE??!”

..._What_? Now something was _definitely_ off. Papyrus was acting like they didn’t even exist! 

He needed to get to the bottom of this.

* * *

“heya grillbz,” he greeted the fire monster, vaguely glad to see that the small bar was still teeming with the regular patrons.

“...Sans,” Grillby acknowledged, giving him a curious look. “Is something wrong? You seem concerned about something.”

“uh... guess you could say that.” The bartender stared back at the skeleton, expecting him to sit down in his usual seat. He didn’t. “i was just wonderin’ where everybody was, y’know? it’s like a ghost town out there.” He chuckled, dryly.

“Oh.” Grillby blinked at him. “Well, I am sure it’s nothing serious. It is probably the chill.”

“right,” he said, just a bit bitterly, “because _snow_din is never that cold.”

“If you are that concerned about it, why don’t you ask someone why they’re not outside?” asked Grillby.

Ah yes, and look like a weirdo. That’s exactly what Sans wanted. “never mind, forget i said anything.”

Without waiting for his friend’s response, he blipped back inside his house, grabbed a heavier coat, then blipped back out into the snow, just a short ways away from the forest near the Ruins.

It was almost a relief to have found out the citizens of Snowdin Town were still alive; _almost_ being the key word, as Sans had yet to figure out what was going on with the human and why they _hadn’t_ been there yet. It was way past the time they were to show up, and what was weirder was the fact there wasn’t even a sign of them; no word of dust being found, no report of missing monsters. Not even a simple warning from Alphys. It didn’t make sense. It wasn’t anything like the other timelines.

It wasn’t _normal_.

He sighed, passing by his brother’s makeshift sentry station. Honestly, this was starting to get ridiculous. Had they suddenly just decided to let the world continue on without them? Were they just taking longer than usual? But, if that was the case, and they hadn’t started killing everyone, why was something still feeling _wrong_?

_Where was Frisk?_

Suddenly, as he started making his way onto the path towards the barred bridge, something out of the corner of his eye-socket caught his attention. It was brief, barely noticeable, and he bet that if he was anyone else he would have just wrote it off as his imagination.

Well, he wasn’t anyone else. He was Sans.

He spun around, and unsurprisingly found nothing. Instead, as he looked around the landscape, his attention fell on his sentry station. It was worth a shot, at least; worst came to worst, he wouldn’t find anything.

Sans shuffled his way over to the station, as quietly as he could, in case he scared away whatever was in there—assuming something _was_ in there, and he wasn’t just crazy. (He was starting to think he maybe was after all.) He poked his head over the ledge, half-expecting to see Frisk, somehow.

He didn’t. It was another human alright, but it definitely wasn’t Frisk, and when they saw him they jumped back, startled. Apart from being a human, they looked like Frisk too, in a way; but their clothes were different, as well as the color of their hair and skin.

Oh, and the fact they were transparent. Great. He was seeing ghosts.

Now he must really be crazy.


	3. Of Disappearing Acts and Ghost Children

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sans meets someone new.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here we go a sudden update
> 
> Sorry if it feels kind of rushed haha. Hope you enjoy!

For a moment, the two of them just stayed were they were, staring at the other blankly.

Then, Sans clutched his skull in his hands and turned away, cursing.

Well, this was just _great_. First he found out he wasn’t part of another Genocide Route, for stars knew whatever reason, and now he was beginning to loose his sanity.

Just... Peachy.

The he shut his eye-sockets, then opened them again, only to find said apparition now standing up in the sentry station. They were seemingly glaring at him, their red eyes fixated on him intensely.

“The least you could do is say something,” they suddenly stated, tone flat. Their voice was rather scratchy and high-pitched, and that combined with their clothing confirmed they were, in fact, a child.

Nice. Even better.

And what _was_ he supposed to say? _hey, nice weather out here, huh? _As if that helped anything?

Before he could react, the ghost-child scrambled over the ledge of the sentry station, dropping to the snow in front of him as he took a few steps back, startled. “Never mind,” they said, brushing off some snow that had gathered on their brown pants (wait, how did that even work?). “I—”

“what are you doing here? who are you?”

He let his own gaze harden on them, cold and distrusting. They merely tilted their head at him.

“That’s a good question, to be truthful,” they said, looking thoughtful. “I’ll let you know when I think of a good answer.”

What.

Sans pretty much repeated his thoughts as he practically stumbled over his next words. “wh—you—... what are you talking about?”

They seemed to study him carefully, eyebrows scrunching up in concentration. “Hmm,” was all they uttered, after a pause. “I don’t remember you being this jumpy. Granted, I figured—”

“what the hell are you _talking_ about?!” the skeleton blurted out, his voice on the verge of cracking as he only got angrier, and the lights in his sockets grew dimmer. “i don’t even know you!”

“...Yes, definitely more jumpy.” They paused again, then asked, “When was the last time you saw a human?”

Okay, now this was just getting ridiculous. “what does that—”

“They didn’t happen to be named Frisk, did they?”

...Frisk.

How did they know Frisk?

Oh stars, did this mean they— “you mean, you know where—”

“No.”

...Oh.

Damn it.

His eye-lights flickered out, partially without him realizing. “why bring them up, if you don’t know?”

For the first time, the ghost looked a little sheepish, and they responded a bit quieter than usual, “I was hoping _you_ knew where they were.”

“well, i don’t. does that satisfy you?”

“Not in the slightest.”

Chuckling dryly, he shook his head. “fine.” He whipped around, attempting to head back the way he came; but he felt eyes boring into the back of his skull. Sighing, he begrudgingly faced them. “look, kid. there’s not much else to say here. neither of us know where frisk is and that’s that. what more do you want?”

What they said next surprised him:

“I want you to take me to Snowdin Town,” they said, rather bluntly.

He blinked.

“no,” he told them, and turned away again.

* * *

A few minutes into his return home, he felt a presence of someone—or something—behind him. He was half-expecting it to be just his imagination, but that was simply not the case. So, either he was still crazy, or that ghost was actually real; because as soon as he glanced backwards and spotted them, all hopes of a uneventful rest of his afternoon flew out the window.

Apparently, their clever self had decided to walk directly behind him the entire time. He wouldn’t have heard a thing, since they weren’t corporeal, which of course he hadn’t. Up until now he hadn’t even bothered to check his surroundings; it could have been so easy to find out someone was following him, regardless of no noise. Instead he’d chosen to be oblivious. (Just another thing to add to his list of mistakes.)

He came to a stop, swiveling to fully glare at them. They immediately halted as well, instantly lifting her hands up in a placating gesture.

“I wasn’t going to ambush you, if that’s what you’re afraid of,” they assured, as if that made stalking him any better.

“you’re trying to follow me home,” he pointed out, his voice low and near to that of a growl.

“It’s for a good reason!”

Was it? What if they were like Frisk? What if they attacked, without mercy?

If they got the chance, what would happen to everyone?

What would happen to—

“Okay, I suppose I should explain myself,” the ghost sighed, making his eyes dart to them suspiciously once more. “Truthfully,” they went on, “I’m just as confused as you are, about Frisk disappearing.”

“so?”

“So I need you to help me. And before you object,” they add quickly, “just hear me out. Please? At least let us get to the town first.”

Sans stared back at them for a good ten to fifty seconds in silence, watching as sweat slowly started to bead above their brow. Chances were, if he denied them, they’d just follow him anyway. But was it worth it, to allow them this? To trust them, even just the slightest bit?

If they weren’t fully corporeal, they might not be able to do much harm; but they were still human. Heaven knew what humans were capable of, when they had their mind set on something. He could be risking everything.

But, really... What more did he have to lose?

“...okay.”

That was all they needed as the transparent figure started walking next to him, looking everywhere but at him. He avoided looking at anything all-together, mostly relying on his memory of the way out of the forest as he kept his focus on the ground.

He felt that odd presence again, closer this time, but chalked it up to being weirded out by the ghostly apparition beside him.

If he had looked behind them, right at the dark, formless figure that bore a creepy smile, he’d surely have changed his mind.


	4. A Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After being difficult, the ghost gives Sans a proposition.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another update woo  
And it's still just as short as the others :') I swear it won't be like this forever haha

“how do you know frisk anyway?” Sans eventually asked, as they neared the town. The ghost trailing at his side proceeded to kick a pebble in the snow.

“It’s complicated,” they responded.

Their point was...? “so? you think you could try explaining?”

“No.”

...Seriously? “well, if you can’t answer that,” the skeleton went on, trying to keep cool, “mind tellin’ me where you came from? pretty sure ghost-humans are a rarity, even on the surface.”

“If you want to know where I came from,” they stated, “you have to tell me where you came from.”

“wh—”

“You used to live or work somewhere else, didn’t you? I want to know more about that.”

No way. No flipping way was he going to tell them that.

“Then I won’t tell you anything about me,” they said. Either he said that last part out loud, or they could read his mind; he wasn’t entirely sure at this point.

“whatever. could you at least tell me your name?”

“No.”

Sans came to a halt, fully glaring at them now. “look, kid. if ‘m going to listen to you at all, it sure as hell won’t be without you telling me something about yourself. i need a reason to trust you and if you don’t give me one, you can forget all of this.”

“Alright. I can still follow you home, though.”

Oh my gods, _why_...

“Okay, how about this,” the apparition offered calmly. “When we get to Snowdin, I’ll tell you what I am and why I’m here. But nothing more than that. And you,” they pointed a finger at him, “will tell me what’s going on with the lab in the back of your house. Deal?”

What?! “no way—”

“If you want to know what my true plans are, then you will cooperate with me. I’m not taking no for an answer.”

Sans blinked back at them, his eye-lights snuffed out. Then, with a grunt, he whipped around and started walking again without another word.

Part of him hoped they wouldn’t follow, but that was just wishful thinking. He could see their red, glowing form a few feet away.

* * *

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the two arrived at the sign, welcoming them to the quaint town. By the way a couple of monsters waved to him, Sans realized they couldn’t see the transparent human with him. He almost believed he really was insane, by that alone; but he knew it wasn’t as simple as that.

And, he hoped there was a good explanation for their existence, because he was starting to despise every part of this.

As they strolled through Snowdin, still as it could be, Sans felt his soul tense up again. Something was feeling off once more, even though he knew now that nothing had happened.

...Had it?

“Where is everyone?” the ghost asked, wondering the same thing as their crimson gaze darted from building to building. “Snowdin isn’t normally this quiet. Unless...” Their eyes widen, but before they could inquire, Sans cut in.

“no, this isn’t frisk’s doing; directly, anyway. everyone’s just indoors.” Mostly everyone, given there were a few stragglers here and there.

“Why?” he heard them ask as they came to a stop behind him, sounding perplexed.

Hmm. He... Wasn’t sure why, actually. It really wasn’t that cold out, and since they had no reason to hide, why would they stay indoors? What was going on? Were they... Scared of something? But that brought even more questions! If Frisk wasn’t around, then...

What were they afraid of?

“it doesn’t matter,” Sans decided. “you told me you’d explain yourself, remember?”

“Right.” Suddenly, they looked almost apprehensive, their eyes still searching the area. “Well... Clearly, I’m a ghost,” they stated after a moment. “You already know that part.”

“yeah yeah, cut to the chase,” Sans grumbled impatiently.

“Okay, um... Truth be told,” they said slowly, “I don’t... Know what I’m doing here. Now that Frisk’s gone, anyway.”

What did that mean...?

As though reading his thoughts, they went on, “That’s how I was able to be here before; and yes, I _was_ here before. Frisk was... Their determination brought me back.”

Sans narrowed his sockets at them suspiciously. “back from where?”

“The dead,” they replied simply.

He wondered if he heard that right. They didn’t give him a chance to react further and continued.

“That’s usually how ghosts come to exist, at least in human mythology, or whatever you want to call it.” They rolled their eyes slightly. “Anyway, only reason I came back was Frisk, like I mentioned. So I don’t know for sure why I’m here now, considering they vanished.”

“wait, how did you—”

“Uh-uh,” they interrupted quickly. “I told you my part of the deal. You tell me yours, then I’ll tell you what I’m planning to do.”

“no, you said you’d tell me your plans first _before_ the whole deal thing,” the skeleton pointed out gruffly. “i won’t ask you anything else, okay? just tell me what you want to do.”

They sighed. “Technically I didn’t promise that, but...” Before he could argue, they added, “Alright, fine. See, I have a hypothesis.”

“okay?” he urged, upon them pausing.

“I think there’s something wrong with this particular timeline.”

“...is that it?” Geez, could they be any more vague?

“Noo,” they drawled, “I need you to help me, because I want to figure out if I’m right or not. I want to know where Frisk went, and I know you have experiences with timelines, so I thought maybe we could—”

“just because i know about the timelines doesn’t mean i can help you,” Sans pointed out.

“But I want to know what you _do_ know about the timelines,” they argued. “That’s why I want you to tell me that you’re doing with your lab. It could be useful.” They smiled slightly; almost smugly, in a way. “There _is_ method to my madness, Sans.”

...Crap.

They did kind of have a point.

“so that’s all you want from me?”

They shrugged. “Pretty much, yes.”

“...and what if we do find them?”

They looked confused for a moment, before nodding slowly in understanding. “Well, we deal with that when we get there. And, even if you don’t help me,” they warned, “I’ll still find a way to do it on my own. I have other methods.”

Wow. Way to sound cryptic.

“fine,” sighed Sans, finally. “but can you still tell me your—”

“No.”

Ugh.


	5. The Void

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone isn’t too happy with Frisk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY THIS IS SO LATE AND SORRY IT'S STILL SO SHORT
> 
> but here, have a frisk and gaster chapter (probably the only one you'll see, at least for a while)

Eventually, the child realized where they had ended up: the “Void,” it was called. They’d seen glimpses of it, once upon a time. They recalled seeing it in dreams, even a few resets at one point. And they knew who was here. They’d met him once, in a certain timeline.

It wasn’t hard figuring out why he brought them here. He was always stoic around them, but they could feel it:

He was very, very angry. And they knew the reason for that, too; but of course they did, it wasn’t lost on them. The pain they caused wasn’t something they could ignore, they knew that for certain. (_Now_, at least.) They had been ignorant before, but not for any longer.

They sat, currently, in the darkness. It was strange, how the floor under their feet was physical. They didn’t quite understand it. They were watching the figure, the one that had took them the real world and made his intentions clear. He was facing away from them, but they knew he was watching them, in a way. It was like he had eyes in the back of his head—perhaps he did, it wasn’t that unthinkable. They didn’t know what his attention was focused on, right then, but with a wave of his hand, there was a small flash. Nothing changed, when the flash went away. The figure still stared at the nothingness in front of him, as though he could see something they couldn’t.

“❄︎♒︎♏︎⍓︎ ♒︎♋︎❖︎♏︎ ■︎□︎⧫︎♓︎♍︎♏︎♎︎📪︎” he said, after a moment, in that garbled language of his. They couldn’t understand him, but it sounded important, and he sounded frustrated, like whatever he apparently saw wasn’t supposed to be happening; were the words related to the thing he was observing? They couldn’t see it, whatever it was, so they couldn’t know. They wanted to know but they just couldn’t. They wanted to be aware of things, but they couldn’t. And it frustrated them to no end.

“❄︎♒︎♏︎⍓︎ ♋︎❒︎♏︎ ●︎□︎□︎🙵♓︎■︎♑︎ ♐︎□︎❒︎ ⍓︎□︎◆︎📬︎” There, in that particular phrase, he sounded indignant, something they hadn’t heard or sensed from him before. He was in disbelief, almost. He didn’t want this, whatever “this” was.

They tried pointing out they couldn’t understand him, and his bizarre dialect. He remained silent, only to turn around, finally. The cracks in his face seemed more defined, and jarring; his smile betrayed the ire burning in his eyes. He almost looked like he wanted to dispose of them, right then and there. A wave of fear swept them, but they kept on a brave face anyway. They didn’t like being as quiet as he, so they went on softly, “I am sorry you are upset.”

They knew their statement wouldn’t truly make him feel better, and this proved to be the case, as the figure’s gaze only hardened on them.

“I—” they began again, meekly.

“✋︎ ⬥︎♓︎●︎●︎ ■︎□︎⧫︎ ♋︎♍︎♍︎♏︎◻︎⧫︎ ⍓︎□︎◆︎❒︎ ♋︎◻︎□︎●︎□︎♑︎♓︎♏︎⬧︎📪︎” he enforced sternly. “❄︎♒︎♏︎⍓︎ ⬥︎♓︎●︎●︎ ❍︎♋︎🙵♏︎ ■︎□︎ ♎︎♓︎♐︎♐︎♏︎❒︎♏︎■︎♍︎♏︎📪︎ ♋︎⬧︎ ⍓︎□︎◆︎ ⧫︎♒︎♓︎■︎🙵 ⧫︎♒︎♏︎⍓︎ ❍︎♓︎♑︎♒︎⧫︎📬︎”

They _didn’t_ think they might, but they opened their mouth, at some vain attempt for clarification, or an excuse they could pull off, only to be interrupted by him once more.

“✋︎ ♎︎□︎ ■︎□︎⧫︎ ♍︎♋︎❒︎♏︎ ⬥︎♒︎♋︎⧫︎ ⍓︎□︎◆︎ ⬧︎♋︎⍓︎📬︎ ✡︎□︎◆︎ ♋︎❒︎♏︎ ■︎□︎⧫︎ ●︎♏︎♋︎❖︎♓︎■︎♑︎📬︎”

They didn’t need to understand, for they already did, at that. They weren’t leaving. That was obvious. They shouldn’t, anyway, they knew. They should be forgotten, just like him, in the Void.

If nothing else, they deserved that, for they had hurt the people they loved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know this isn't the "traditional" wingdings but i didn't have much to work with, either way here are the translations:
> 
> THEY HAVE NOTICED,  
THEY ARE LOOKING FOR YOU.  
I WILL NOT ACCEPT YOUR APOLOGIES,  
THEY WILL MAKE NO DIFFERENCE, AS YOU THINK THEY MIGHT.  
I DO NOT CARE WHAT YOU SAY. YOU ARE NOT LEAVING.


	6. A Meet... Of Sorts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where the ghost is introduced to a very enthusiastic skeleton.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> good golly gosh, i am so sorry this chapter is so late!! for the longest time I couldn't figure out what I wanted to include here, nor how to write it (which sounds weird but bear with me), but i think i'm good now? at least until the next update which, knowing me, will come out in another couple of months :'3
> 
> but honestly, overall I'm just happy I'm on a roll, like, I'm livin' the dream. I feel somewhat productive and it's great lol

First and foremost, Sans needed to figure out where to keep them. They complained about the idea of sleeping outside, despite being incorporeal, and seeing as nobody else was aware of their presence, finding them such a place indoors would prove... Difficult.

At first, Sans considered renting out a room at the inn, claiming it was for him, but that brought problems of its own: the most obvious question being, why couldn’t he just sleep at home? He couldn’t see himself making up a good excuse for that, really.

(And, he didn’t even want to _think _about how Papyrus might feel about it.)

In the end, that, unfortunately, meant he had to bring the ghost to his own house. He didn’t like the idea, but at this point, it wasn’t like he had much of a choice.

He _supposed_ things could be worse.

Unfortunately, as he did come back to the house, there was one thing he hadn’t accounted for: and that was Papyrus himself.

...Meaning before he could even reach the door, it flew open and his brother darted out, not giving him time to even (figuratively) breathe before sweeping him up in a crushing hug.

“SANS!!” Papyrus shouted, right next to his skull, though Sans flinched only slightly. “I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU!!!”

“uh, what.”

“YOU _KNOW_ YOU WEREN’T SUPPOSED TO GO OUTSIDE!! IT’S DANGEROUS!! I WAS SO WORRIED!!!”

“woooah, woah, woah, why is it dangerous?”

“BECAUSE!”

“because why?”

There was a brief pause; then, huffing out a sigh, the taller skeleton finally set him back on the ground, though proceeded to wring his gloved hands. “BECAUSE... WELL...”

Sans quirked a brow at him. “did something happen, or...?”

“NO, I DON’T... I DON’T THINK SO, BUT...” He glanced around his surroundings, almost nervously. “THERE’S JUST... SOMETHING’S WRONG. I MEAN, I THOUGHT THERE WAS BUT I DON’T...”

He turned his gaze back to Sans, looking about as confused as he felt. “I DON’T REMEMBER.”

...

...Okay, then.

Uneasy, Sans briefly glanced back at his ghost companion, who just floated at his side, looking a mixture of weary and bored. But Papyrus noticed him glance back.

And oddly enough, he... Started smiling.

“OH, HELLO THERE, HUMAN!!”

Sans froze. His eye-lights dilated in his sockets, and he stared up at his brother blankly.

“you can—”

“WELL, OF COURSE I CAN SEE THEM!!” He switched a slight glare on him. “AND HONESTLY, THAT’S RUDE, SANS! JUST BECAUSE THEY’RE ALL SEE-THROUGH-Y DOESN’T MEAN YOU SHOULD PRETEND THEY DON’T EXIST!”

Okay. Okay, _okay_. 

What the actual Hell.

What was happening anymore?

Suddenly, Papyrus starting shouting something else, drawing Sans foggily from his thoughts. “WOWIE, THIS IS GREAT!! I HAVEN’T SEEN A HUMAN SINCE—...” He stopped himself, looking a bit perplexed; almost distressed. But then he then quickly got back his grin, and continued, “WELL, SINCE FOREVER, I THINK!”

“Yeah, well...” Sans turned as said ghostly figure started speaking, sounding surprisingly calm about the situation, everything considered. “Technically you still haven’t seen one.”

Papyrus frowned, looking at them inquisitively. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN? I WOULD THINK I WOULD KNOW A HUMAN IF I SAW ONE!”

“I _used_ to be human,” they corrected, “now I’m basically a former shell of one.”

Sans rested a hand on the back of his skull, backing away slightly. “a’right, well, imma just head inside—”

“WHAT?! WHY?!! THERE’S SO MUCH WE COULD TALK ABOUT WITH THE HUMAN!! THEY COULD BE A POTENTIAL FRIEND, SANS!”

Sans turned away from the both of them, just barely catching the way the ghost’s shoulders sagged at his brother’s words.

“yeah, okay, then befriend them. i’m tired and i wanna sleep.”

“YOU _ALWAYS_ WANT TO SLEEP,” grumbled Papyrus behind him, but Sans was already gone.

* * *

The ghost sat at the table in a chair, watching Papyrus poke a fork into his half-cooked spaghetti. The skeleton hesitated, blinking over at them.

“...SO YOU REALLY _CAN’T_ EAT?”

“Nope,” they replied. “Incorporeal, remember?”

Papyrus’s frown deepened, nearly twisting into a scowl. “WELL, THAT’S NOT FAIR!”

“I’m dead.”

“BUT YOU’RE MISSING OUT ON TASTING MY DELICIOUS SPAGHETTI!!” he complained. “THAT’S JUST... AWFUL!”

_I’d beg to differ, _the child thought to themselves, smirking just slightly.

It’d been a few hours since Sans first went up to his room, so Papyrus had invited them inside, and attempted cooking something for both of them; they almost regretted telling him they lacked the ability to eat in their form.

At this point, they weren’t too worried about finding a place for them to stay, since—

Suddenly, they heard the loud banging of steel hitting something, and quickly glanced back up to see Papyrus had dropped his fork unceremoniously onto the table. He met their gaze, blinking blankly.

“UM!” he blurted. SORRY! I’M JUST NOT THAT HUNGRY RIGHT AT THE MOMENT.”

“Why not?” they asked, switching their attention back to watching their faded legs dangle over their chair.

“I THINK...” He squinted slightly. “...I DON’T KNOW.”

“...Alright?”

“I MEAN, I... SOMETHING JUST FEELS... REALLY WRONG.”

The young apparition stared on as he messed with his gloves, quiet, waiting for him to go on.

“IT’S JUST, NOT ONLY IS SANS ACTING STRANGE, BUT...”

“You haven’t seen him for a few hours now.”

“YES BUT, HE’S NOT THAT... DISTANT, USUALLY, WHEN HE CAME BACK WITH YOU. UNLESS SOMETHING IS WRONG. AND IT’S NOT ONLY THAT, IT’S...”

Again, he halted himself, fidgeting in his chair on the other side of the table. He opened his mouth a couple of times, at an attempt at speaking, but seemed to lose the words.

“It’s what?” the ghost finally prompted.

“IT’S JUST... STRANGE. I FEEL LIKE I’M FORGETTING SOMETHING. SOMETHING... IMPORTANT.”

A pause.

“OR SOMEONE.”

His face darkened. He tried to remember.

Yet, he couldn’t.

So he stopped trying, and turned back to the ghostly child with a grin. A fake grin, but a grin nonetheless. 

“ENOUGH ABOUT THAT, SORRY! I’M SURE IT’S FINE.”

But neither of them were so sure.

Papyrus let them “stay” on the couch, still seemingly disregarding the fact there was no way for them to function like a normal creature and be able to rest. But they appreciated it, given he... Didn’t really know them.

They weren’t entirely sure what they’d do all night, to pass the time—and before they could really ponder that, Papyrus started talking again.

“OH, BY THE WAY!! WHAT IS YOUR NAME, HUMAN?”

...Oh.

They stared back at him, the way he looked at them expectantly; and they knew that whatever they told him, whether it was a lie or not, he’d believe it wholeheartedly.

He already trusted them.

Just like...

They quickly shoved that random thought away, giving him a small, halfhearted smile, to appear like a normal child—or, as normal as possible in their situation—if nothing else.

“Chara,” they said, quietly.

“WELL, IT’S BEEN VERY NICE TO MEET YOUR ACQUAINTANCE, CHARA!!” He beamed. “YOU MAY STAY HERE AS LONG AS YOU LIKE!”

“Um, thank you.”

“ALRIGHTY, SEE YOU TOMORROW!!”

They waved weakly as he trotted towards and up the stairs, and finally let out a sigh when they heard his bedroom door shut behind him.

_Frisk _better_ have a good explanation for everything, _they thought bitterly.

Honestly, they pitied Sans, and how he felt about their sudden appearance...

Because in the end, they’d rather not be here, either.


End file.
